


What's in a Name

by SirLadySketch



Category: Dragon Age: Inquisition
Genre: F/M, Gen, character backstory
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-04-19
Updated: 2015-04-19
Packaged: 2018-03-24 17:34:44
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,353
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3777391
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SirLadySketch/pseuds/SirLadySketch
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>With the initial danger gone and a new enemy looming on the horizon, the team tries to get to know each other. They are, for better or worse, going to be working together, after all. Set during the early days of Haven.</p>
            </blockquote>





	What's in a Name

_I wonder what Keeper Deshanna would say_ , thought Remli as she ladled out a serving of stew from the cookpot, _if she knew that I was keeping company with humans and dwarves now?_ She straightened and walked back to her seat, close to the only other elf in their company. Solas said little, but after a day being regaled to the snarky banter between the Seeker and the writer, Remli appreciated a bit of peace and quiet.

Their camp sat by a little rill-fed pond, and over the crackling of the fire, she could hear the calls of frogs and insects of the fields. She could just make out the occasional whicker of one of Master Dennet’s horses, or the bray of one of the druffalo in the distance. The stars were bright, the moon just rising over the mountains, and the food was tolerably good, for shem-food. The company was… interesting.

“So tell me, Herald,” said Varric as he tucked into his own bowl of pottage, “I don’t know much of the Dalish, but your name doesn’t sound very elf-y to me. You said that your people interact with humans on a fairly frequent basis—were you given a more humanized name?”

She could feel the flinch from Solas, but she smiled, tearing some of the hard biscuit in two and dropping it into the soup to soften.

“My clan does interact with humans on a regular basis, yes, but I spent very little time with my people, and even less time near humans. ‘Remli’ is a nickname only,” she explained, fishing out the morsel and popping in into her mouth. “I find that if you have too many syllables in your name, people tend to call you some rather unintentionally terrible things.”  
“Do you have another name that you wish to be called?” asked the Seeker, setting down her bowl to pick up a whet stone for the massive sword she wielded. Varric jumped a little as Cassandra pointedly gave him a look as she ran the stone over the blade.

“No, Remli is fine,” answered the elf, smiling a bit to reassure the Seeker that there was no harm in the question. “I’ve gotten used to it, only my Keeper insists on calling me my full name, and usually it’s in anger, so I tend to prefer the nickname.”

Varric accepted this with a nod, getting up with the pretense of getting more food. However, Remli saw him sit noticeably farther from the stern swordswoman, which in turn caused the human to make an irritated ‘hmph’ noise. Remli placed her empty bowl beside her seat, leaning back to look up at the stars. 

“I have heard that some Dalish choose their names,” said Solas, surprising her back into a sitting position. She turned to look at him, and he tilted his head a bit, as though studying her. “That when you complete the rite of adulthood, when you receive the Vallaslin, you may choose or be given a name that best suits you.”

Remli raised her eyebrows a bit, but nodded, reaching up to run a finger along the delicate lines of Mythal’s blessing.

“Not all clans, but some do, yes. Lavellans are a more flexible clan than others, and if a person’s name does not suit them, they can change it if they wish—so long as the Keeper approves, of course.” Remli flashed a grin at Solas, murmuring, “Esaya, Lethal’lin. A’silesan or ma’melin?”

He lowered his head, refusing to take the bait. “I would not presume to guess, Lavellan,” he replied, “until we were better acquainted.”

She flushed, turning to stare back at the first as she nervously ran her fingers through her hair. _Was that flirting? Or is he saying that I was too forward to presume he would guess?_ Not for the first time did she feel like she’d been caught in her own trap, socially-speaking. She sighed. Reading other people was never as easy as reading signs in the forest.

“I take it from that exchange that you were one such person in your clan to choose a different name?” asked Varric, and she shifted her gaze over to him.

“You speak Elhven?” she asked, genuinely curious. He laughed, slapping his knee and gesturing between them.

“No, but I am an expert of reading people and picking up on contextual clues. Now I’m curious, though, as to what name you chose for yourself.”

“You are under no obligation to respond if you do not wish to,” interrupted Cassandra, scowling at the dwarf. “Thethras often wheedles others into disclosing information they would prefer to remain private.”

Varric held up his hands in surrender, shaking his head. “What, you’re going to pull the whole ‘the dwarf made me do it?’ routine, Seeker? I’m just trying to be friendly and get to know more about our new companion here, that’s all. It’s called small talk. Not all bonding needs to be done over decapitating bandits.”

“It’s alright, I don’t mind,” Remli said quickly, trying to cut off any retort Cassandra might have. “Varric is right, we’ll be working together for the foreseeable future, so it is good to get to know more about each other. Besides, what’s a campfire without a story or two?”

She stretched out her legs and crossed her ankles, leaning forward on her seat to begin.

“When I was young, my father told me the story of how he and my mother met. Apparently, they’d both dreamt of the other, long before they ever met, and each of them saw the other holding a child. My mother was Keeper Deshanna’s First,” she explained, “And my father was a keeper from a smaller clan, with no little talent of his own. So, both had training enough to recognize omens when they saw them.”

She smiled, recalling the memory of her father’s face light up as he told the story. “They met at the next Arlathvhen, and they spent, ah, time together for the duration of the gathering, during which time I was conceived. My father returned to his clan with my half-brother Virleal, who'd recently come into his powers, but they corresponded frequently enough. When I was born, they decided to call me Erem’lin, or ‘the dreamer.’” She laughed, shrugging a bit.

“It was rather a surprise to everyone to find that I was magically inept and I slept little, dreaming even less. Over the years, I found that dreaming did little good when there are bellies to feed and kin to protect. When I joined my clan as a full adult, I cast off the name and became Sylvirem’lin, or ‘the airborn.’” She smiled, cheerfully, and finished “but I like Remli and it’s easy to say and remember, so it’s what I use for introductions.”

“Now, I know that there’s got to be a story about ‘the airborn.’ Generally speaking, the only people who fly are the ones falling off cliffs, and then usually don’t meet with a happy end,” said the dwarf, leaning forward to hear the rest of the tale.

“A more complete translation would be ‘the one who soars or flies,’” said Solas, smiling a bit as he looked at her. “And as we’ve seen on the battlefield, it is a fitting name to one who moves with such grace and adept skill.” 

She flushed, unable to think of anything to say to that, but it was Cassandra who rescued her, clearing her throat.

“If we are going to get an early start marking the locations of those watch towers, we’d best get some rest,” said the Seeker, standing and sheathing her now sharpened sword in one smooth movement. She nodded to the others before turning to leave, heading into the tent she’d claimed earlier in the day. 

Remli scooped up her dishes before standing as well, anxious to get to the privacy of her little canvas shelter. She smiled at the two remaining party members, cradling her mess kit before her.

“Good night Varric,” she said to Varric, then turned to Solas. “On nydha, Solas.”

“On eras, Lethallan,” he replied.

**Author's Note:**

> Many thanks to fenxshiral for the assistance in coming up with Remli’s full name—the Project Elvhen is an amazing resource. :) 
> 
> Translations:
> 
>  _Era_ \- to dream
> 
>  _sylvira_ \- to fly, to soar
> 
>  _“Esaya, Lethal’lin. A’silesan or ma’melin?"_  
>  Try, friend. Your thoughts of my name?
> 
>  _On nydha, Solas.”_  
>  Good night, Solas.
> 
>  _“On eras, Lethal’lan,”_  
>  Good dreams, friend.


End file.
